Postdoctoral Project: Mapping behavioral-experiential trajectories in genetically identical newborn individual fish
Description of the research project: This project addresses one of the most fundamental questions associated with exploration behavior and the development of intelligent behavior in biological systems. When facing the task of developing intelligent (i.e. adaptable, general, cost effective and goal-directed) behavior in an unknown environment, for example from birth, what are the exact sequences of exploration behaviors and associated experiences that real-world organisms go through? In order to address this question, the postdoctoral researcher will map the behavioral-experiential trajectories of genetically identical newborn individual fish (Poecilia formosa) with a high-resolution tracking system under a range of ecological conditions. Throughout, the postdoctoral researcher is expected to closely collaborate with a second postdoc, who focusses on the development of algorithmic models aimed at explaining and predicting the experimentally observed behavioral patterns.